CHAPTER TEN

Captured

“Wasn’t the book you were reading in the library called ‘The Haunted Lake’?” Ibrahim asked as they hiked back to camp.

“Yup,” said Zayn, pushing branches aside with a long stick. “It had the same story Mr. Jones told us on our first night here. It also had a map of this area, showing an ancient burial site for the Cree Indians on the other side of the lake.”

“That’s probably what the men are trying to dig up,” said Ibrahim. “I’m sure there are private collectors who would pay a lot of money for ancient artefacts.”

“Not just artefacts,” said Zayn. “Apparently the Cree people were the largest tribe in the area and one of the most important. According to the book, some gold and silver may be buried there. The only reason it’s been safe for this long are people like Mr. Parker and his family.”

“What do you know about his family?” asked Ibrahim.

“The book I was reading was written by John Parker,” said Zayn. “The author’s father was British and his mother was a full-blooded Cree Indian. My guess is that John Parker is somehow related to our Mr. Parker.”

“That’s some great detective work!” said Ibrahim, stepping into the clearing of Camp Chimo.

Everyone, including Mr. Barnell, George and Billy Jones, was back, and had gathered around the meeting place.

“Where do you think Stan is?” asked Zayn.

“Probably back at his camp,” guessed Ibrahim. “When we tell everyone what’s happened, we’ll have to keep Billy out of it for now.”

“Why?” asked Zayn, but before Ibrahim could answer, Mrs. Morris came running over to the boys.

“There you are!” she said, looking relieved. “We were all so worried about the two of you.”

“We’re okay,” said Ibrahim. “And we found out who’s been trying to scare us.”

Ibrahim and Zayn took turns telling everyone what had happened. They were careful to leave Billy’s name out of it, making Stan the only culprit. Mrs. Morris called the police while Mr. Barnell, Mr. Parker and the Khan Boys got ready to head back into the forest.

“I’ll come with you,” said Billy. “You might need me.”

“Sure,” agreed Mr. Parker. “We might need an extra hand out there.”

The boys led the small group back to Stan’s camp.

“You boys wait back here,” said Mr. Barnell. “If anything goes wrong, run back to camp and bring the police here.”

Ibrahim and Zayn hid behind a thick maple tree while the adults approached the campsite.

“Let me talk to him first,” offered Billy. “I’ll tell him the game’s over. Hopefully he’ll come with us peacefully.”

There was no sign of Stan outside the tent, so Billy entered the tent through the front while Mr. Barnell and Mr. Parker stayed outside, in case he tried to run.

“What if Billy and Stan try to take down Mr. Parker and Mr. Barnell?” asked Zayn.

“If I’m right, Billy doesn’t think he’s a suspect,” said Ibrahim. “I think he’ll try to convince Stan to surrender rather than risk himself being caught.”

Within minutes Billy brought out a tall, bald man with his hands tied behind his back.